Sampa The Great to make Joburg debut
JOBURG – Sampa the Great to make her Johannesburg debut at Untitled Basement on Friday 31 May to celebrate her first shows on African soil.
Sampa the Great is set to make her Johannesburg debut at Untitled Basement on 31 May to celebrate her first shows on African soil.
Her first Jozi date is part of a broader tour which includes her first show at home in Lusaka, a headline spot at MTN Bushfire Festival in Swaziland, Dark MOFO in Australia, Glastonbury in the UK, Down the Rabbit Hole in The Netherlands, Hip-Hop Collection in France and her USA debut at BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival with Burna Boy.
The muso has a penchant for poetry and weaves lyrical mazes with her verses, drawing listeners into a lush, imaginative world. Her music bonds from spoken-word to rap, with stops at psychedelic and blues along the way; it’s the sound of an adventurous young mind pushing out against all boundaries. Born in Zambia, she was then raised in Botswana. Music was immersed within her family life and at the age of 22, Sampa left home and moved to Australia to further her musical studies.
Her debut project, The Great Mixtape introduced her to audiences, giving them their first taste of what she was about. Produced by Sydney-based musician Godriguez, the project was about making one’s presence known, making your dreams become a reality and believing in yourself no matter who you are and where you come from. Since this initial release, she has collaborated with artists like REMI, Hiatus Kaiyote, Estelle and has supported Kendrick Lamar and Thundercat.
Following her first European headline tour and supporting Joey Bada$$ on his All Amerikkkan Bada$$ tour, Sampa the Great released her second album Birds and The BEE9 with Ninja Tune’s sister label Big Dada. It garnered attention from Gilles Peterson (BBC6), Annie Mac (Radio 1), Clash, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, triple j, and landing coveted feature album spots across community radio stations across the board, it’s no wonder Sampa The Great was awarded with the Australian Music Prize award for 2017.
In her endeavours, Sampa the Great continues to strive to always be the best she can be; with promise of more music, poetry and avenues of expression always around the corner.
